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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. kick — in football
  5. rash — hasty
  6. court — of a king
  7. march — music
  8. key — in music
  9. march — the month
  10. saw — the tool
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. key — for a lock
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. court — of law
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. squash — to crush
  20. saw — the tool
  21. squash — the sport
  22. march — the month
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. rash — a series

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com